Sources tell BoomTown that AOL is close to selling off its ICQ instant messaging service, having trimmed down a list of seven suitors to four. The price for the service is rumored to be just
under $200 million. The negotiations are part of a broader effort by AOL to deleverage non-core units in the wake of its separation from Time Warner. Sources say that the solicitation of bids is now
over, and that there are four "serious" ones, which one source calls a "'U.N. of buyers.'"
"Translation: The bidders are likelier to be one of many international Internet companies rather
than a U.S. one," writes BoomTown. AOL has been taking all proposals through its investment bankers, Allen & Co. and Morgan Stanley.